Humanitarian Efforts Underway: Red Cross and Egyptian Team Search for Hostage Remains

Israel has allowed Egyptian teams and the Red Cross to search for the remains of deceased hostages in Gaza, including areas under Israeli military control. This comes as Hamas expanded its search efforts and Egypt sent heavy equipment to help locate the bodies of 13 remaining hostages, while President Trump gave Hamas a 48-hour ultimatum to return all remaining Israeli hostages.

An Egyptian convoy carrying heavy machinery entered Gaza yesterday to help locate Israeli hostage remains, with vehicles spotted in Khan Younis in the southern part of the territory. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu personally approved the entry of the Egyptian team and engineering vehicles into the Palestinian territory.

Israel also permitted Hamas members and International Red Cross staff to enter Rafah in southern Gaza to search for missing bodies. The teams are now working together to identify locations of hostage remains within the "yellow zone" - an area representing more than half of Gaza's territory that remains under Israeli army control.

Palestinian sources said a convoy carrying Hamas members and Red Cross officials entered Rafah after the movement provided coordinates for a possible burial site. The search focuses on recovering the body of Israeli officer Hadar Goldin, who was captured by Hamas during the 2014 Gaza war.

Hamas announced it has expanded its search operations for the remaining 13 hostages, coordinating with Egyptian experts and heavy equipment to extract bodies from various locations across the devastated territory. The group has requested additional tools and assistance to locate bodies buried under rubble throughout Gaza.

The ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel requires the Palestinian movement to return all remaining hostages - both living and dead. Of the 48 hostages held when the agreement was signed, Hamas has so far returned only 15 bodies out of 28 deceased hostages. The deal includes the release of approximately 2,000 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

Trump's 48-hour deadline adds pressure to the search operations, though he hasn't specified what actions he might take if the deadline passes.

**International Force Planning**

Netanyahu said Israel will determine which foreign forces can participate in an international peacekeeping force planned for Gaza under Trump's proposal. The Israeli leader emphasized during a cabinet meeting that Israel maintains control over its security decisions and will specify which forces are unacceptable.

"We control our security, and we made it clear to international powers that Israel will determine the forces that are unacceptable to us," Netanyahu stated. He noted this approach has U.S. approval based on recent communications with senior American representatives.

The Trump administration is considering forces from Egypt and Indonesia for the international presence, while ruling out sending American soldiers to Gaza. Netanyahu hinted last week at opposing any role for Turkish security forces in the territory.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said during a Friday visit to Israel that any international force must consist of troops from "countries that Israel welcomes." He avoided commenting specifically on Turkey's potential role but emphasized that Gaza's future governance requires discussion between Israel and partner nations, excluding Hamas from any role.